Linda’s Thoughts – Thank Goodness For Smackdown

We had an atrocious Raw, a pretty good ECW, a good Superstars, and another OUTSTANDING Smackdown. Yes, Smackdown came through again, and the show put a giant smile on my face, and lately that’s something that hasn’t been happening much especially with Raw. Smackdown had so much going for it that even the weakest segments came off okay. Let me get right into another on fire show. And then I have a few words to say about the departing Mr.Kennedy…Kennedy.

The opening with Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio was another great way to get the show started. They went back and forth talking about what they would do to each other at Extreme Rules with their No Holds Barred match. This is a feud that was rumored to have happen a while ago, and I’m so glad we finally got it. Jericho’s character has been even stronger since he came to Smackdown from Raw, and believe me on Raw he was outstanding ever since his feud with Shawn Michaels. Rey seems to be happy to be back on Smackdown and when he interacts with Jericho it usually turns out very well. I absolutely loved the opening and yes it did set the tone for more VERY good things to come.

Great Khali (w/Ranjin Singh) and R-Truth defeated Mike Knox and Dolph Ziggler wasn’t bad at all. Okay maybe a year ago I would have complained but as I have been saying Ziggler has been showing me a lot and I’m still big with R. Truth. Khali as a face is working for me. Now I will say I think Knox has put on much to much weight and I’m embarrassed to say this, but I find myself looking at his big belly more than his wrestling and that’s not smart on my part. I don’t know if Knox has what I thought he had a while ago, but I would like to see some of his weight come off. He would still a big guy, the kind that Vince goes for. Anyway I was okay with this match and I have to give it to Ziggler for making me really care about his feud with Khali. Now the next match with Melina vs. Alicia Fox wasn’t great but what the hell I still didn’t mind it, maybe because it was a quick one. I don’t want to say that Fox hasn’t got it, because I think in time she might, but for me it was too soon to put her out there with Melina. But again I didn’t find myself channel surfing like I did Monday night, this wasn’t that bad.

I got a kick out of John Morrison’s interview backstage with Josh Matthews. It wasn’t what he said about comparing Umaga to a tree and then comparing himself to one, it was the way it was said. He has a delivery that is supposed to come off as thought provoking, but it comes off humorous and I love that about his character. Most of you know that the singles push for Morrison is something that I have wanted to see for a long time and so far he has not disappointed me with his mic work and his wrestling. This interview also brought in Shelton Benjamin who also did a very cool job. He told Morrison that they had unfinished business in the real world, and Morrison had a great comeback. He told him that in the real world he beat Benjamin twice and that in the real world he beat the other half of the worlds most forgotten tag team twice, in the real world Benjamin hasn’t done anything since 2004. Shelton reminded him that he was the former U.S. champion and the gold standard. Morrison then said that he has better things to do than talk golden hair dye number 5 psychology to a former champ. Man these two have just complimented each other so well in and out of the ring. And the awesome mic work continued with Jeff Hardy. Man I say this every week but he is SO OVER and he gave us another solid promo. But first we got a hell of a video with Jeff and some of his ladder matches. This set up his in ring promo. He really put over how dangerous the ladder match was, but he said that they were his comfort zone. He mentioned how he and Edge years ago were a part of the very first ever tag team ladder match, and how it’s strange that their careers changed after that match. And now 10 years later their feud will end with this ladder match. Hardy said he was going to prove that last year was no fluke when he became champion, it was meant to be. And at Extreme Rules he will walk into that ring climb the ladder and become world heavyweight champion. It was a short promo, but it was done very well, and honestly this is a match that makes me want to order that pay per view.

As Hardy was leaving Umaga came out to face John Morrison. Just like the Umaga vs. CM Punk match at Judgment Day, I was surprised by how much I liked this one. No it wasn’t fast paced but both men put a lot into it. Granted there were quite a few Umaga holds but all in all I found myself very entertained. And of course the more violent it got the more I liked it. I’m talking about Umaga using the nasty Samoan strap on Morrison. Morrison took a beating and it only got worse for him when Umaga tied him upside down on the ring post. Ah, but it was Punk out to the rescue, and finally Punk got the upper hand over Umaga by hitting him twice with the Money In The Bank briefcase. He then gave Umaga a Bulldog onto the briefcase and the crowd went nuts. By the way this Los Angeles crowd was excellent, but then again look at what they got compared to Monday night. Umaga then slowly rolled out of the ring and Todd Grisham appeared and asked Punk what his strategy was for the strap match. And the very cool Punk responded by asking if he looked like a guy that strategized? He said he would find a way. Umaga might be bigger and more dangerous, but he’s not CM Punk. This was another top segment of the night, and I’m so enjoying Punk on Smackdown.

Woo I loved the tag team match with Cryme Tyme vs. Shelton and Charlie Haas. Now this was not only fast paced, but also Cryme Tyme really shined in this one. This was one of the top matches of the night, and I’m thrilled that Haas has been right with Shelton week after week. Gee you guys didn’t know I’m a Haas fan, yeah you did, but watching him wrestle week after week is so great to see. These four did a great job. I doubt we will get more since Shelton and Morrison are not over with, but I wouldn’t mind having this go on for a while. The next match I think I liked more than Melina vs. Alicia Fox. Now granted Eve and Layla don’t wrestle on a regular basis, but I thought both of these women put on a decent showing. I would have to say that they gave their all and this came off better than I thought it would.

And now the main event was on the way. It was Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio vs. Edge and Jericho. However, that all seemed to change when Edge basically ordered Jericho to follow his lead because he was the Heavyweight Champion. Jericho really wasn’t happy to hear that, and told Edge that he could go out there on his own. So we now were going to get Edge vs. Mysterio and Jeff Hardy. Okay that could work for me too, but of course a part of me figured Jericho would end up in the match. So Edge is the first one out and he cut a great promo. He said if he could describe Hardy it would be missed opportunities. He mentioned that he excelled in ladder matches and even though it was Hardy that wowed the crowd, he was a winner. Edge has been fantastic and his promo was just a great way to build things up for next week’s pay per view.

And after his promo, Jericho’s music hit, but there’s no Jericho. So next we hear Rey’s music and out he comes. This next part was EXCELLENT! Rey did his usual by going to the kids in the crowd with their masks on, and meeting them face-to-face. Now I always read the spoilers, but I missed this part, so it was a great surprise for me. One of Rey’s “fans” did the face-to-face thing, but it wasn’t a kid, it was Jericho who attacked Rey by slamming his head onto the railing. And Jericho didn’t stop there; Jericho climbed over the railing kicked Rey and then took his mask off and threw Rey into the barricade. He then tried to take Rey’s mask off, but Jeff Hardy came out and went after Jericho. After he chased Jericho away, Jeff went back to check on Rey. They went to commercial and when they came back Rey was unable to participate in the match so it was now Jericho and Edge vs. Jeff Hardy. And it was a terrific handicap/main event match. Everyone clicked here, but then that’s not a surprise and this match just flowed. Edge won and that wasn’t good enough for him. He ended things by hitting Jeff with a ladder and then by opening the ladder shoving Hardy in there and then slamming the ladder on top of him. My God what a super ending.

This was a show that I would recommend to anyone who wasn’t around to see it. As I said the weakest segments were still good. So we started the week on a very sour note and ended things on a very sweet note. Okay so I will be back with my thoughts about Raw hopefully on Tuesday. I would like to think Raw will be much better than the last few weeks, but no matter what I will be back, no matter how painful it could turn out to be. Seriously, I will think positive, it couldn’t hurt. Listen since I went kind of long today Tuesday I will also share my Mr. Kennedy thoughts with you, there’s some things that I definitely want to talk about.